Empire of Ice and Diamond
by vanessahstar1
Summary: A sequel to Disney University set three years later but not exactly the same, new friendships can be born even as old ones die. And some of the smallest things can make the biggest difference.
1. Chapter 1

1

Penny didn't know what to feel. She had thought Madam Medusa was gone until she saw her the other day. And that's why she had called the Rescue Aid Society. She couldn't handle this alone; that was just a fact. So here she was, Miss Bianca on one side of her and Bernard on the other, trying to find her former captor. Within the last days, they had traversed down to a place much more wild, but she didn't miss being hime. " see it! Her tracks are there!" She pointed to where a trail lead toward a forest, smiling as she ran after it.

Her companions chased after her and lead her toward the red-haired woman.

Miss Bianca heard something and turned toward it, momentarily distracted though Bernard and Penny tried to call her back. But Penny quickly realized they would have to carry on alone for the moment. They would meet again; she knew that. But she was determined to find Madam Medusa and whoever had saved her.

And before long, she did. She saw her, but she wasn't afraid of her. If anything, being this woman's prisoner had only made her braver, and part of the girl wanted to thank her for that. But how she was alive was the question—there should have been no way Penny could thank her.

She drew closer and smiled at her, holding out her hand nervously. "I brought a present."

The woman looked down and her eyes widened in shock, making a grab for the girl. "You-"

Penny smiled. "Someone you don't want to hurt. Unless, of course, this is no longer important." She held out the diamond she had searched so long for, unable to believe she was going to relinquish it. But this was Bianca's plan; she was simply executing it. And she would trust her with her life iff it came to that after everything they had been through. If she said give Medusa the diamond, she would give Medusa the diamond.


	2. Chapter 2

2

Miss Bianca didn't know what to make of the scream she had heard, buut she had a duty to the greater good. She wouldn't have left Penny to this quest alone, but she knew Bernard could protect her. And whoever was in danger clearly needed her help here and now. She gathered together as many allies as she could and ran to the tree where the cry had come from, letting the others help her up it and back down, the injured rabbit held between them. "It's alright little one. You're safe."

The rabbit stared up at its saviors, shaking. "GA-Arendell."

Bianca looked at the others, shaking her head. "I don't understand."

The rabbit whimpered, trying to explain. "E-Elsa."

Bianca nodded slowly, everything beginning to make sense. "Elsa. Queen Elsa of Arendell? Isn't that a long way?"

The rabbit whimpered again, shaking. "J-Just get her!"

Bianca walked back to the others, having her new friends carry the rabbit behind her. "Now would be a good time to get rid of that diamond Medusa. Assuming you actually want to live awhile. Rumor has it the people around here aren't very nice. I know for a fact the birds aren't."

She knew the look she got in response and frowned but refused to speak. If Medusa didn't want help, fine. She would simply take the diamond and try to get something for herself with it. But it didn't come to that. She let Penny help her carry the rabbit as they followed the woman, Bernard by her side and the two hardly havingto say a word to convey their mutual fear that this may or may not work out like they wanted.

But before dark fell, Medusa had them hidden and on their way to Arendell in what she thought would be her privat yacht. Buianca wasn't going to tell her she had other plans for t. Not yet. Though she had enjoyed watching Penny get to know the rabbit as it was tended to, she knew it was just a matter of getting to Arendell, handing Medusa over to the proper authorities, and getting themselves home. Simple enough right? Or would there be a problem, just like every other rescue she had ever took part in?


	3. Chapter 3

3

In Arendell, Elsa sat wwaiting for her sister to return. She was planning a reunion of the original Wicked Ones. It had been three years since they had all been together, three years since she and Yzma had graduated from Disney University and left their friends behind. And it had been three years since she saw Yzma. She had heard she was a cat now; she couldn't very well call a cat. The reunion wouldn't be the same without her, but she would just have to take her place and do the best she could to please Anna.

She had even managed to call Hans. The only one missing now was Anna. But before her sister arrived, the guards lead in a red-haired woman and a young girl who held a rabbit out to her, two mice following behind them. "What is this?"

The rabbit looked up at her, its eyes sad and wounds dressed as well as they could be. "E-Elsa. I need your help."

The girl smiled at her. "Your friend missed you. Are you really a queen?"

Elsa beamed. "Yes, I really am a queen. But what do you mean my friend?"

The rabbit stared up at her, seeming to plead. "It's me Elsa. I-It's Yzma."

Elsa could hardly believe what she was hearing. "Yzma? You really have changed. Wow."

Yzmaa looked down at her. "Just give me sanctuary? And… maybe I will work with Mim for once? Only so I can be an actual person again. I don't feel like a million Els."

Elsa smiled. "Well you look it. At least more than last time we were together. Remember that?" She smiled at her companions and pointed to a guest room near them. "You can stay for the night. At least until I find a way to get her back to herself."

The woman looked at her, frowning. "Do you mean Mim as in… Mad Madam Mim? Because if so, I'm definitely staying."

Elsa nodded. "Yeah, I heard she had adopted that little name within the last years. But you should really hide. She's not what you think." She knew this woman had probably heard rumors and wanted to know Mim for herself, but why she had yet to learn. And what would be the point in it? What did she have to gain?


	4. Chapter 4

4

It was beyond anything Madam Medusa could have imagined. For about an hour, she had held the world's largest diamond in her possession. Without it, she was lost. Her life felt meaningless. Not that it mattered to anyone of course if her life had meaning. None of thes people cared about her. But it astonished her how the queen seemed to know this rabbit—the same animal she had been forced to give up the diamond to protect. Though she could hardly focus on the young woman before her; there was so much to see here. And she couldn't help but wonder how much of it was worth as much as that diamond had been.

She had gotten thousands for it of course. But just like the diamond, she had given that up too. It was funny to her how much sway that mouse—Bianca, wasn't it?—had over her.. And it seemed she and that girl she had taken wasn't much better. They both had a way with this woman—Elsa if she understood correctly.

But as she was being lead away, the throne room door opened and in walked a beautiful girl who went to embrace the queen. Medusa pulled back so she could watch their exchange, her eyes sparkling as she heard the queen's soft voice. "Oh Anna. I missed you. And I have a surprise for you."

Anna. She had heard rumors about that girl. She was the princess, wasn't she? But she was a lot older than she liked. But she supposed help was help. "Yes Elsa. I'm here. And Vanessa's coming… but she needed to "see about someone,"" she was saying.

See about someone? Medusa knew what that meant. Could this be her Vanessa? The Vanessa who had saved her was friends with the princess of Arendell? If it was true, she could win this girl. Maybe it wouldn't be the Devil's Eye, but she could still get something from her. Royalty, she had heard, always paid well. But she would need to confront this, the thought of seeing Vanessa again driving her as she walked forward. "She's looking for me. But I'm not where she left me, clearly. She thought I might be a friend of hers when she pulled me out of the river… I think she was quite disappointed I was not."

The princess and queen turned to look at her, each studying her carefully though Elsa spoke first. "She probably confused you for Ariel or my sister."

Anna nodded. "But I was nowhere near water. The last time we were… wait. Did she find you in a place called Devil's Bayou?"

Medusa smiled at her a little. "Maybe I was. That's for you to determine.. But the truth is, you had no business in that place."

Elsa nodded, becoming stern. "I don't know this woman, but I agree with her Anna. I hear bad things happen to people when they go there. You could have been hurt."

Medusa's smile widened as she approached the queen, staring at her in what could alost be seen as longing. She wanted to tell this younger woman her story. But something told her that confiding in Elsa would get her imprisoned. And she wasn't ready for a cell yet. "Well… most of the danger was gone. I expect… that… well that Vanessa heard what had been happeneing and thought she could stop it. She's quite the swimmer from what I remember. And I'd almost be willing to bet she knows more than she tells you. Her hands were… well they weren't exactly gentle. But Elsa, s it true about your ice?"

Elsa frowned, clearly not liking the change of subject. "Yes it's true. But I'm going to need a name before I can show you."

Her eyes sparkled and she watched the people around her carefully, the two royals having been joined by a purple-haired woman she didn't recognize though she was sure she should know. "That's easy. You can call me Medusa. Or… Madam Medusa would be more like it. But if that little word takes too long to say, forget it."


	5. Chapter 5

5

Anna looked up, surprised. "Mim? What are you-"

Her former friend smiled at her wearily. "Isn't it marvelous? Anna's gathering everyone back together! You know, like we were in your first year at DU!"

Anna bit her lip. "Uh… Madam? I think you might need too… leave. My friends are… well-"

Medusa smiled at her. "No fear. My friends aren't always great either." She flinched, Anna knowing she was horrified by what she had just said but not understanding that no part of the woman truly saw Miss Bianca as her friend.

Anna smiled a little. "Well if you're sure, I suppose you can stay."

Mim smirked, having been observing the woman carefully. "I think she would have been perfect Anna. She looks like our type anyway, even if she might not seem like you."

Maleficent beamed, coming in with Hans behind her. "I couldn't agree more! She would have been wonderful in our group!"

Anna turned, smiling as she saw them, realizing Yzma was the only one missing from the original Wicked Ones and looking around before her eyes land on the rabbit beside her sister and she runs to pet it. "Oh Elsa! How did you-"

Elsa beamed. "Madam Medusa's gift to us."

Medusa cut her off, grimacing a little at the words. "Oh no. I don't give gifts my lady. This was Bianca's gift."

Elsa sighed, correcting herself. "Well Bianca did this. She brought Yzma back to us Anna. You're petting her as we speak."

Yzma looked up at her, and Anna could see clearly that it was her. "Hey Yzma. I missed you. You know that?"

Her friend smiled at her a little. "Yeah. I did. Just… don't ask how. I can't quite explain it."

Anna smirked. "Can't be that you missed me could it?"

"Empress Yzma? Miss someone?" She laughed. "Never. I just-"Her head turned as she saw a mouse scamper up to them, looking down happily though the others fall silent.

)(Short. I know. But the next one will be longer, I promise.)


	6. Chapter 6

6

Miss Bianca stared up at the red-haired princess, unable to believe she was tolerating Medusa's presence. "I think she should go now. She got us here, which was really all we needed from her. But you need to know who she is."

Anna frowned. "I do. She's Madam Medusa. And she seems to be pretty nice. So I say she can stay awhile. But then, I'm not the queen."

Elsa nodded. "But you're the queen's sister. Which is even more important in my opinion. If you say Medusa can stay, I see no reason she can't. And surely Miss Bianca doesn't either."

The mouse looked up at her, seemingly hurt by their trust in her enemy. "Actually I have all the problems in the world with it. Do you not know what she did? Have you not heard of her crimes?"

Anna frowned. "I know a friend of mine saved her in Devil's Bayou. I never saw her, but… I heard Vanessa talk about her."

Maleficent looked at her, then at the woman. "Devil's Bayou? Isn't that where that diamond was that one woman wanted? The… one who took that girl? I heard about it, but there are pieces missing."

Bianca nodded, relieved someone seemed to know. "I have no idea who you are, but you're seemingly the smartest person here. She was the one looking for it. She took that child… my friend Penny. It's really only thanks to Penny she's here. We could have just left her to try and find her way back to society by herself, but Penny insisted she wanted to find her. And Bernard and I thought any excuse to see her again was a good one."

Anna's eyes widened in shock as she looked at Medusa again, seeming to see her differently now. "S-So… you… you hurt someone? Over a diamond?"

Medusa stared back at the princess, fixing her with what Bianca was sure was fake regret. "I did… My lady. And I'm sorry for it."

Elsa took her hand, her eyes soft as she seemed not to be quite as moved as her sister had been, possibly due to her own imprisonment as a child in her castle. "Well what if I said I'll give you something much more valuable than a diamond if you can prove that sorrow really does exist? I have the power to let Arendell be your sanctuary. But it can also be a temporary prison. It's your choice."

Bianca turned on her, wanting to speak but watching as Penny pushed the door to their room open and walked toward her former captor. "Penny, she's the same person you knew. She's probably just pretending to be sorry so they'll let her go. But I won't stand for it. What she did was too horrible. And you deserve-"

Penny shook her head, hesitantly reaching to take Medusa's hand in her own, fighting the urge to pull away from her. "Part of why I insisted on finding you… was so I could say something a little less traditional. I'm actually glad we had our little adventure. It may not have helped you, but it did me."

Bianca frowned. "Penny,-"

Penny smiled a little, both cutting her off and ignoring her. "The truth is, you don't need some huge diamond to get by. Some treasures probably make more money than others, but the best treasures can't be sold. That's one thing I know now."

Medusa was staring at her just like everyone else, trying to decide if she could be serious but seeming to decide she was. "So… you think I did a good thing? That would be a first."

Penny shook her head, knowing what she thought for once and prepared to stand up to the woman. "No. I think what you did was very bad. But the results of it are good. So… So thank you. And Miss Bianca please don't look at me like that. You told me to be brave once. Consider this me being brave. Maybe this was one of the wishes I've made on a sad little tear. Couldn't someone be waiting for her just as much as they were waiting for me then?"


	7. Chapter 7

7

Penny didn't want to fight with Miss Bianca. She had been so good to her after all, saving her when Madam Medusa had helped her captive on the riverboat. But she needed to say this for herself as much as the woman before her... She needed to say it, and she sensed her former captor needed to hear it. Penny didn't know Medusa very well, but she could tell how desperate she was for someone—anyone—to admire her. She doubted anyone ever had, and that made her sad.

Bianca finally spoke, both pride and betrayal evident in her eyes and voice. "Penny… why do you have to do this? Why do you have to stand up for someone who doesn't deserve your kindness? Remember all the things she said to you that were so hurtful?"

Penny nodded. Of course she did, but that was no guarantee of who Medusa could be as a person. "Yes. I do. But maybe this was one of my prayers. I would be able to see her and tell her how happy I was now. And I'm sorry if that hurts you, but I'm trying to do what I think is right."

Bianca's head was bowed, and the girl could see what appeared to be little mouse tears rolling down her face. "Yeah. I understand. And I'm happy for you. Guess you don't need us anymore huh? You're a big girl now." She tried to run from the room, but Anna was able to take her into her arms and hold her close. "P-Put me down."

Anna shook her head, carrying her away. Penny frowned, hating that they had fought. "I didn't mean to hurt her."

Elsa nodded. "I know you didn't, and I'm sure Bianca does too deep down. She's probably just struggling with the fact that you're growing up. I hear mothers do that, and I sense she's like a mother to you."

Penny smiled a little. "Yeah. She and Bernard were all I had when Medusa took me. I missed them, but… I tried to move on after they left. I never forgot them though." It was true. She had never forgotten her friends, even after she had been adopted. But seeing Miss Bianca hurt hurt her too.

Medusa finally looked down at her, and Penny pulled away from her, suddenly afraid. "Don't run. I need you again. But you don't have to steal anything this time."

Elsa smiled, gesturing for the others to follow her. "We'll leave you two to work things out. You need some time to really get to know each other. And not as enemies."


	8. Chapter 8

8

Elsa frowned, holding Yzma close and waiting for the others to catch up with her. "I'm going to fix this. I promise. I don't know how, but-"

Yzma sighed. "I'm going to help you. I know the recipe; I just can't mix it."

Mim laughed. "Wow. You know the recipe. That'ss grand. Only… it helps no one. We don't have half the ingredients! This isn't the empire!"

Maleficent turned on her. "Well if you're so magnificent, why don't you change her back yourself? It would really restore our faith in you if you could. But you can't, hence why Merlin's the most powerful wizard. You're no match for any of us. You can shift your form. Great. So can I. You can be a dragon. So can I. So what makes you so much greater than I am?"

Mim scowled. "That I'm the magnificent, marvelous, Mad Madam Mim! You're nothing compared to me!"

Maleficent nodded. "Fine. Then bring it. Just the two of us. You and I. We'll see whose magic is better. Unless you're scared."

Mim smirked, stepping toward her. "Scared? What would I be scared of? Winning? I live for winning! Now: Rules. No disappearing. No changing to anything that's not an animal. And no curses."

Maleficent smiled sweetly at her. "Of course not. My days cursing people are over. You know, after I temporarily lost my powers because of Aurora?"

Mim nodded. "Yeah. IThat was quite the scandal if I remember. Poor you… couldn't even go home."

Maleficent scowled, changing to a large dragon and coming toward her, watching the pink dragon rise to join her. She moved forward, and Mim followed. But before they could conjur any fire, Elsa was in front of them, scowling. "Stop this. Yzma would never ask you to fight over her."

Madam Mimm frowned, coming down as Maleicent did the same. "I don't care! I just… I want to do this Elsa."

Elsa frowned. "And I'm having a ball for my sister tonight. So the rest of you should get ready. That would be my advice."

Yzma whimpered. "A ball? No. I won't go. I will not!"

Elsa laughed softly. "No one said you had to. But I'm sure we can mix those ingredients together and have you looking like your old self before then. If Mim will help us."

"No! Elsa,-"

Elsa scowled. "Either you help me or you leave. You're lucky to be a guest here." She smiled as the woman allowed herself to be carried away, Yzma wrapped in Elsa's cape.


	9. Chapter 9

9

Anna frowned as Bianca tried to get out of her arms, holding her closer. "He. We're going to make it better. I promise."

Bianca shook her head, looking up at her. "I… no we… have to go. It's useless."

Anna scowled as she sat down in her room, cradling her gently. "Do you know what's useless Miss Bianca? Everything. If you give up on it everything becomes useless. But if love can unthaw winter, I know it can stop a little fight."

Bianca jumped out of her lap and out the door, running as fast as she could away from her though she secretly liked the girl somehow. She was too much like Penny though—she simply couldn't know her. And that, she decided, was that. What was the point in saving someone if they turned against you? Why did anyone even do a good thing if nothing good came of it? Medusa had gotten the diamond for a minute—or, at least, a fake version of it. It had all been for nothing. She and Bernard could have just as well never gone to Devil's Bayou in the first place; it would have saved her a lot of pain anyway.

She stopped short before she could collide with Bernard, the two looking at each other in surprise though neither was entirely sure why. "We have to go. That's all there is left. We leave and that's the end of it."

Bernard frowned. "Penny has to go home too."

Bianca scowled. "Oh we'll let the queen handle that. And you can count me out. We make a good team, but it's just not worth it anymore. No one appreciates what we do for them."

Bernard looked at her, frowning a little. "Bianca? Where is this coming from? You never give up."

Bianca nodded. "I'm beginning to think maybe I should. Penny didn't want to be saved. Otherwise, she wouldn't thank Medusa for saving her."

Bernard watched her, thinking about it for a minute before speaking. "Or maybe because we saved her she was able to thank Medusa. I imagine that was the only part she enjoyed… being saved. And I remember—we would always try to give her hope. I imagine she just wants to extend that same hope to someone she knows now has nothing."

Bianca scowled. "That woman didn't deserve anyone. I'd like to meet this Vanessa who saved her if I'm honest. She clearly doesn't know what she's doing if she helped Medusa of all people."

Anna scowled, coming right up next to her and crouching down. "She thought it was me! All she could see was her hair! I'd say join us tonight, but with this attitude? I don't think so." She ran off, crying in both pain and disbelief. She had liked how Bianca treated her sister—like she was a person rather than a queen. But if she couldn't see past the past to understand the present, she wanted her nowhere near the celebration. She wanted to enjoy tonight, not spend it waiting for a disaster. And anyway, a ball would be a dangerous place even if they were on good terms.


	10. Chapter 10

10

Medusa heard Anna shouting but paid no attention to it. Word of the coming celebration had gotten around the palace quickly, and right now, she was eyeing the only person in the princss's group that could potentially escort her, waiting for him to notice her. Finally, he approached her, and she prepared the perfect lie. While Elsa and Mim worked, she had been busy trying to get close to the other girl. Everyone called her Maleficent, but at the moment, Medusa secretly called her her little spy.

She had learned his name was Hans, and he was a prince. He had tried to take over Arendell four years ago, only intending to marry Anna because she was a princess. So now, she would be a princess. "Madam?"

She smiled, looking away and then back. "Oh no. I didn't want to tell anyone in Arendell yet, but it should be "princess." Not Madam. Princess Medusa of Atlantica." It was the obvious choice—Vanessa's home from what she had told her and the one place no human could visit.. "Soon to be queen!"

Hans studied her, taking her in. "There was a girl in my year at DU who was a princess from Atlantica. She never mentioned a sister named Medusa."

Medua nodded quickly,, trying to think of a way around it. "Yes. Because I was her mother's sister. And I was chosen to take over because I could be a diplomat with the humans! But now, I have to find someone to marry first."

Hans looked at her, thoughtful. "Well… we always have tonight. If you can prove in some way that you truly are a princess of Atlantica, it would be my honor to join you."

Medusa's heartbeat quickened as he walked away, a triumphant smile slowly crossing her features. All she had to do was prove she was a princess? Well that would be easy enough. She had diamonds… only Vanessa had left them in Devil's Bayou aboard the riverboat. And she had no time to go back to Devil's Bayou, nor did she have the desire to see that place again. It had been both a place of revelry and of defeat. She needed to be back in her pawnshop, looking for anything she could use to pull off this act. But there wasn't time to go home either.

She looked over to where Mim had returned, Elsa and the rabbit nowhere to be seen though the woman wa staring at her. "You look as depressed as I feel. I just had to help my worst enmy turn into a human."

Medusa nodded. "I have to impress your friend Hans. And I have no diamond. Not a single one!"

Mim frowned. "Wow. Your day's been worse!"

Medusa nodded. "I can't go home and get something. Not before the ball."

Mim rowned, watching her. "Well I may have just the thing for this. But you're going to give me something in return. Once the night is over."

Medusa nodded, waiting anxiously. Whatever she wanted, she would have to give it to her. She needed to gbe safe. "Fine. Name your price. But in case you don't know, I do know a real bargain when I see one."

Mim nodded. "I will make you a princess if only for this one night. But after, you will proclaim me to be the world's most powerful sorceress. And if you don't? Hans will know the truth."


End file.
